Victim’s forgiveness spares man longer term

March 21, 2012

WAILUKU - A Kahului man is serving an 18-month jail term for sexually assaulting a family member, starting when the girl was in 1st grade and continuing until she was an 8th-grader.

Marshall Losano, 56, also was placed on 20 years' probation as part of his sentence Friday.

He could have faced a longer prison term, after pleading guilty to 10 counts of first-degree sexual assault, attempted first-degree sexual assault and 23 counts of third-degree sexual assault.

But First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rivera said the state made the plea agreement for jail and probation on behalf of the victim.

In court Friday, the victim's mother said she forgave Losano, although he "did wrong."

"I love him still cause I think that people deserve second chances," the girl said in court. "I think if he gets help, he'll get past this. He won't do it to anybody else."

According to court records, the sexual assaults occurred from August 2002 to last April.

Losano, who was indicted on the charges, has been incarcerated since his arrest in July.

Losano has no prior criminal record and appears to be an alcoholic, said Deputy Public Defender William "Pili" McGrath.

"I'm so sorry for what I have done," Losano said in court. "If it wasn't for the alcohol, I wouldn't be here today, ashamed and remorseful for what I did. I know with the help of my family, counseling and treatment, I won't do this mistake again."

But Rivera said Losano was providing "misinformation" by "blaming this crime on alcohol."

"What the defendant is not an alcoholic," Rivera said. "He's a child sex offender."

In a probation officer's report, Losano described how he has suffered, including by losing two jobs, Rivera said.

"If you put together everything he's lost, it pales in comparison to what he took from the victim, and that's her childhood," Rivera said. "I don't think he recognizes when you steal a childhood, you take a life, you steal a soul."

He said the girl was struggling in school and undergoing counseling.

While following the plea agreement, 2nd Circuit Judge Rhonda Loo said Losano appeared to "minimize" what he did. During some of the incidents, Losano hadn't been drinking, she said.

Instead of focusing on himself, Loo said Losano should focus on how he had hurt the girl.

"It's about her victimization," she told Losano. "It's about her loss of her childhood. It's about the violation of trust. It's about her. It's not about you.

"Yes, you have to live with this brand of sex offender across your forehead. But that's your doing, not hers."

Losano was ordered to have no contact with the victim or other minor children and to not live in the same residence as minor children. He was ordered to participate in sex offender treatment. and to pay restitution for the victim's continuing counseling.